Ice Cream
by QueenAurora
Summary: Valentine's Day one shot, in which Hiccup takes Astrid for ice cream. My first modern HTTYD fanfic!


_I know Valentine's Day has past, but I just had to get this idea out. This is my first modern story for HTYYD, so I'm very curious what you think of it! If you want to read old fashioned fanficts, with dragons and Vikings and what not, I have quite a lot to choose from on my profile, so go check it out!  
_

 _I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine, and don't be sad if you didn't, there's always next year. You're all special to me! :)_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Ice Cream**

"This better be a good surprise Hiccup Haddock," Astrid teased as she slung her backpack over her shoulder, lightly stomping his arm.

The lanky 17-year-old next to her smiled shyly, rubbing his arm before stuffing his notes in his own bag.

"Eh... I think so?" he said, almost unsure of himself, "I mean.. I'm not good with this whole Valentine's Day romantic stuff that girls usually like..."

"Oh I'm just teasing," Astrid grinned, "I know that whatever it is, it will be wonderful."

"You sure?" he asked as they walked out of the classroom, "I mean, I wouldn't want to disappoint you, you know? I just want this to be a day to remember."

"I think it will be no matter what happens," Astrid said and she took his hand, walking close to him.

The sun was shining when they left Berk High, the only high school in their small town, but there was still snow on the ground, and despite the sun it was chilly. The sky was clear, just a few small clouds, and their breaths turned into small bursts of fog while they hurried to Hiccup's old pick up truck. Astrid shuddered a little as she pulled the door closed, watching her boyfriend as he started the car and pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Is your dad still away?" she asked, and his face fell.

"He is..." he said solemnly, "he won't be back until the end of the month."

"That business with your uncle sure hit him hard," she said and Hiccup nodded.

"Sure did... no one expected it you know? Just all so sudden..."

"So... what about your cousin?" she asked, watching him as he drove down the street, "where will he go now? Move in with you? I mean... his dad just died and all..."

"I hope he won't..." Hiccup mumbled, a frown on his face, "we don't really... get along very well, you know? Not at all actually. He's always picking on me, since we were little. And he's twice my size, muscles... tall... I think he works out every day or something. I never had much contact with dad's brother anyway... with any of them."

She nodded silently. She had met Hiccup's cousin just once, and she could still picture the tall, imposing boy, hardly any older than Hiccup himself, but almost twice his size.

"He'll be back with your birthday, right?" she asked, but Hiccup shook his head.

"Doubt it," he mumbled, "he hardly ever is..."

She glanced at him, hearing the slight bitterness in his voice and put on her brightest smile.

"Lets not think about that," she said, "it's Valentine's Day, lets just celebrate that. I've been looking forward all day to this... surprise... very cryptic message you know. I mean, bring gloves and a hat? For what?"

She pulled out her phone, reading over it again, smiling at the hearts and kisses he had sent her that morning.

"We're here..." he said, pulling into a parking spot and turning to look at her.

"Giovanni's?" she asked, looking at the shop in front of them, "it's a little cold for ice cream..."

"That's why I asked you to bring gloves," he said smiling a little, "so your head won't freeze. And a hat, against brain freeze."

She looked at him, shocked for a moment, then she started laughing.

"Goodness Hiccup..." she chuckled, "you sure are a sly one..."

He grinned and got out the car. Before she could open the door he had run around to her side, opening it for her and offering his hand. She took it with a smile, allowing him to help her get out of the car. After locking the vehicle he led her to the front door and she was able to peer inside the small shop. Despite the cold outside there were a few people inside, enjoying the ice cream.

"Like he said..." Hiccup said with a small smile as he pushed the door open, "ice cream for every season."

She chuckled and followed him inside. They were greeted by the owner, a large man with a booming voice. Unlike the name of his shop suggested he was born and raised in Berk, but he had always claimed his ancestors had to be Italian. No one argued with him, as he made the best ice cream in the whole town. He was simply known as Gio, as no one bothered to remember his real name, and the man often said he had become attached to the name anyway, so he didn't mind that they all called him that. Gio let them to a table near the window, sitting them down and winking at Hiccup as he left.

"Did he just wink at you?" Astrid asked, frowning, "why did he wink? Hiccup?"

Hiccup just smiled, not answering her question, but Gio soon came back, setting a vase with roses on the table.

"Romantic no?" he asked, winking again as he lit two candles, "Valentine comes from lovely Italia, did you know that?"

"Eh... no," Hiccup said, smiling nervously, "not really... no..."

"Magnifico! I will bring the ice cream," the man announced and he left again.

"Em... great...?" Hiccup smiled a little.

Astrid chuckled and took his hand, looking at the roses.

"He sure knows hows romance," she said, as she took one from the vase.

"The roses were my idea..." Hiccup stammered, looking down.

"Oh! Gosh, I'm so sorry," she hurried to say, "I mean... it's amazing... thank you..."

"You mean that?" he asked, "I'm not good at the whole romance thing... I remember my dad giving my mom roses before... you know..."

She gently slid the flower back into the vase and took his other hand as well. "I think they're beautiful."

He looked at her, a smile forming on his face. She smiled back, but before either of them could say anything, Gio came back, placing the ice cream between them on the table.

"Cupa di Amore, yes?" he said with a dramatic wave of his arm, "enjoy..."

"Cupa do Amore..." Astrid asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the collection of flavours in front of her.

It was a masterfully made dish, with all her favourite flavours of ice cream, including chocolate and strawberry. The outside edge was decorated with small ice cream cones, each holding a swirl of whipped cream, topped with either a fresh strawberry or a chocolate heart. In the middle there were two larger chocolate hearts, surrounded by coloured sprinkles.

"It's... amazing," she said, taking one of the spoons, "I don't even know where to begin with this."

"Well," Hiccup said, "the middle would be a good place to start. Although... this scoop looks simply delicious, so I think I'll just eat that first."

He dug his spoon in a caramel coloured scoop, taking almost half of it in one go. Astrid gasped and quickly took some as well, pretending to be insulted. He snickered and placed a chocolate heart on top of her spoon in the ice cream.

"I think you got the romance thing down quite nicely," she said as she pulled out her hat and pulled it over her head, "this is nice. Thank you."

He didn't answer, but he blushed a little as he pushed a wrapped box across the table. She frowned as she looked at it, setting her spoon down.

"What's this?" she asked and she took the box.

"Just a little something I made..." he mumbled, quickly shoving a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

She shook the box, before pulling the wrapping paper off. It was a standard Valentine's wrapping paper, with red and pink hearts and even some glitter, but right now she didn't care. It was a small wooden box, nothing to complex. Her name was carved in the lid, and when she opened it there was a soft velvety cushion in it. On the cushion lay a necklace, glistening slightly in the electrical lighting of the shop. There was a light blue bead, fastened with silver wire that curled around it elegantly, giving it the shape of a raindrop.

"You made this...?" she asked, amazed as she took it out.

He nodded a little and watched her as she turned it over in her hand.

"It's beautiful..." she said, "how... how do you make this?"

"You know I like to tinker," he said with a smile, "I found some glass beads I thought fit your eyes well. I had to make something with it."

He reached over, lifting the cushion, revealing a second one, this one containing a bracelet with the same beads.

"You spoil me too much," she said, but she was smiling widely, it's a good thing I haven't forgotten to get you something."

"You... you did?" he asked, surprise all over his face, "really?"

"Of course I did!" she said, laughing a little, "Valentine's isn't just for the guy to spoil his girl you know."

"I knew that," he said, nodding furiously, waving his spoon, "I totally knew that. Absolutely did I know that. Yes, of course I knew that."

"Okay okay..." she laughed, "I believe you, but can you please stop waving your spoon like that? You'll get ice cream all over me."

"Whoops... sorry..." he smiled sheepishly, offering her a napkin.

"It's alright," she said, "I'm good. I have a stack of napkins right here. But anyway, what I was trying to say, I don't actually have it with me, but I do have a picture."

"Okay...?" he said, raising an eyebrow, putting the spoon down, "what is it, a horse or something?"

She chuckled and shook her head, pulling her phone out, skipping through the pictures until she found the right one.

"Hiccup, meet Jackson," she said and she showed him a small, black puppy with some white on it's chest, "he's your new friend."

"Wait... what?" he asked, "you're giving me a puppy...?"

She smiled and nodded. "My aunt has a litter," she explained, "he's not a pure bred of any kind, but I'm sure he's just as sweet."

She gave him the phone, showing him some more pictures. There were seven puppies total, one black, which was the one she picked for him. The pictures were mostly of the puppies sleeping, but one picture showed Jackson yawning widely, showing pink gums and a small tongue.

"Toothless..." he chuckled, pointing at it.

"They're 10 days old so you have to be patient," she said, "but I'll let you know when you can pick him up."

"But... you can't just give me a puppy... can you?" he asked, putting the phone down.

She shrugged. "Why not? Your dad is always working, you need a friend for when I'm not available, the puppies need homes... win-win, right?"

"I... I don't know what to say..." he stammered, glancing at the picture again.

"You can start by saying thanks," she said, smearing some ice cream on his nose and taking the spoon again, "thanks would be good..."

"Thank you," he said, a smile breaking onto his face, "thank you so much. Really, thank you. Thank you..."

She smiled back at him. "Thank you as well," she said, slipping the necklace round her neck, "this is beautiful."

He dipped his head in silent acknowledgement, already having another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. They finished the plate slowly but surely, talking about al kinds of things, from upcoming exams to the Super bowl. When the plate was mostly empty she leaned back, sighing contently.

"That was amazing," she said, "I'm so full I don't think I can take another step."

"I'll drive you home then?" he asked, taking the last strawberry from the plate.

"That would be lovely," she said with a smile, "you might have to roll me to the car though."

"You're not that fat," he said with a smile, standing up and offering his hand.

"Shouldn't you pay for all this?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Paid up front," he grinned, "come... I'll bring you home."

"You can do that?" she asked, surprised, "you can pay up front? I didn't know you could do that..."

"Anything is possible if you ask nicely," he said, "opening the car door for her, "Milady."

"Milady...?" she frowned as she climbed into the seat, "that's new... I... I kinda like it..."

He closed the door and quickly went to the other side, climbing into the drivers seat and starting the engine. She leaned back, closing her eyes with a smile on her face.

"It was a good surprise..." she said, "you do realise that you've set the bar quite high for next year, right?"

"Oh believe me, I do," he said, "I can already feel the pressure! Oh, the horror!"

He fainted dramatically, laughing when she punched his arm. "Okay okay... I'm going... so abusive..."

He glanced at her as he pulled out of the parking lot, heading south towards her house.

"I love you..." he mumbled, smiling shyly when she looked at him.

"I love you too Hiccup Haddock," she said, "I love you too..."


End file.
